Big Frets vs Flat Radius

monquixote

I had always been told that a vintage radius was a big no if you liked doing lots of bending and twiddly bits. 

Now I own a vintage radius guitar (ASAT Special) I find that it feels great for bending, but I suspect this is because it's got bleedin great big frets.

 

This is backed up by my Gretsch which has the same scale length and a 12" radius, but skinny frets and feels a lot less smooth for bendy goodness.

This leads me to believe that big frets are more important than a flat radius for smooth choke free bending. 

interested to know others thoughts on the matter.

HAL9000

I own a US Telecaster with a 9.5" radius and a Pacifica 311H with something like a 14" radius. Both have big frets and are both (to my mind) equally easy to bend. When I bought the Yamaha I was concerned that the flatter radius could be uncomfortable but if anything I actually prefer it to the Tele.

ICBM

Two different things...

Choking (or not) on bends is a function of the radius and the action - if you like a higher action you won't have a problem even with a vintage radius. You just can't get as low an action without choking as you can with a flatter board.

The big frets help bending because you get more of your fingertip under the string, and with very small frets your fingertips drag more against the board.

So as long as you don't mind a higher action, bending should be easier on a vintage-radius board with big frets than a flatter-radius board with small ones. But given the same fret size the flatter radius board should be easier because you'll be able to get the action a bit lower.

mike_l

I prefer big(ger) frets and a flat 'board, suits my hands best.

My Jackson has pretty small fret in comparison to the others, and I definitely struggle with bending strings more with that than any of the others.

octatonic

When I get a chance I'll put a photo up of a 9" radius gauge against a 12" fingerboard so ppl can see how little difference there is between the two. Yes, big frets will make a bigger difference. Skilled repairers can radius the fret slightly differently to the camber of the the fingerboard, esp with bigger frets.

hywelg

For me big frets have to also be wide, tall narrow frets feel very 'sticky'.

grungebob

opposite way round for me, i like tall narrow frets rather than wide frets, i just play more accurate on narrower frets.

Skipped

I like taller frets and bigger frets generally.
A guitar tech told me recently that some players have intonation difficulties with bigger frets.
I was a bit surprised. Or perhaps I think that intonation - to the nth degree- is a bit over-rated (except at the Nut).
I wonder if there are people who can't listen to some seventies albums becasue they are a bit off. It would be fun to see those recordings "corrected" and the sales then suddenly nosedive.......

stickyfiddle

I really like tall frets, don't mind or whether they're wide or narrow. I don't mind about radius, though if given a choice I'll pick 12". My paisley Tele was full-vintage until January this year when it got a refret with 6105 tall/narrows. It's taken a bit of getting used to but it's definitely easier to play now than it was. Equally, I find I struggle on old Gibsons with flat boards and low frets. 

John_A

Seems like the general consensus is that people, me included, like bigger frets, so why are there so few guitars with them apart from ones aimed at 'rockers' ESP, Charvel etc, would be nice if other manufacturers offered a choice.